Honest question, who/what determines if an album is a 2x LP? Is it strictly to make more money?

not sure, but i doubt they make much more profit if at all. they have to press twice as many vinyl and produce more elaborate packaging (if it's a gatefold). personally, i don't care for 2xLPs unless it's practical... like 16 songs full-length songs or more. then again i don't really know jack shit about how this stuff works. just speculating.